From our area
Browse through these atractions and stories about the area.
With a new motel nearing completion; an established leather academy; much visited old jail cum-museum-cum-coffee shop-cum nursery; the MuisHuis coffee shop with a brand new face; Bagdad padstal, just outside of town, specialising in pancakes of your choice; and two succulent nurseries, !



Vanrhynsdorp is NOT your ordinary little town off the N7 anymore!!!! On top of that we were blessed with wonderful rains the past week (2&3 June) ...everyone in town is in high spirit! We are getting ourselves organised for our much appreciated visitors.....year after year people flock to Vanrhynsdorp, from all over the world, to see our flowers. As it is we have bookings as far and wide as Japan, France, Belgium and England, Canada/USA and Germany.
There are so many places to visit and explore: Olifants River wine route with up-market restaurants in and around Vredendal; Great wines to taste and buy; Fryers Cove winery right on the ocean in Doornbaai where you not only can taste great wines but enjoy a lovely seafood platter; the Gifberg with wonderful rock formations; Vanrhyns pass between Vanrhynsdorp and Nieuwoudtville with unequalled views over the Knersvlakte; Nieuwoudtville, the bulb capital of the world and much much more...... waiting to hear from you!!
The car registration numbers in town tell the whole story ....everyone is here to see our beautiful flowers. And soon the bulbs in our neighbouring town, Nieuwoudtville, will be in full bloom. The botanical gardens just outside Nieuwoudtville already have big patches of "satyn blomme". Just about 8km out of Vanrhynsdorp en route the Gifberg Mountain, you will find fields of flowers, all colours of the rainbow and best is, the farmers do not mind you opening a gate to get a closer look. Important however is just to close the gate again and stay on the used tracks. A lot of visitors do not do justice to their experience by not getting out of their cars and have an "on-foot" look at the flowers. The variety you spot within any given square metre will blow you over. Try it!



What a memorable evening! The Old Goal re-opened last Thursday as a 5 star tourist attraction after three long months of restoration. It is located right in the centre of town, next to the Information bureau. To co-celebrate this great event, Wilna Eloff exhibited some of her wonderful water colour paintings of namaqualand succulents, many endemic to this region. And of course, being part of the Olifant’s River Wine Route, we may even have over-indulged a bit! The local cuisine did not let us down either. Speaking of which – fresh, home baked bread will be available on a daily basis, not to mention Monica’s Peacock brand cappuccino. And if your body resists the idea of caffeine , try her Cappuccino Red.
Vanrhynsdorp is known for its cultivation of high quality Rooibos tea.

Op 1 Augustus 2014 gooi ons pas-gerestoureerde Ou Tronk sy deure oop vir die publiek!!! Hier, onder een dak, kan u "hmm" en "haa" oor alles wat te seien is in die "terug in tyd" winkeltjie; 'n kraakvars broodjie uit hul buite-oond(binne-in) koop; 'n heerlike koppie koffie in die koffiewinkel geniet en die motor se kattebak vol met ons wereld se plantjies laai!!

Dis ook die dag waarop Wilna Eloff, botaniese kunstenaar se kunsuitstalling begin - haar nuwe reeks werke van skaars vetplantspesies uit Namakwaland gaan uitgestal word vir 'n paar weke. Sestien kunswerke van endemiese plante soos die "curly wurlies", "pig's ears" en "horse's teeth" maak deel uit van die uitstalling.

Of the 177 bird species endemic to Southern Africa, 77 are found in in the VRD area! So it was definitely time to start a bird watchers club. Salome Willemse, the driving force behind the founding of the Namaqua Birders Club, is an enthusiastic birder who keeps everyone on their toes and ensures that not a single week passes without an excursion hoping for yet another sighting to tick off on our individual lists. In the VRD, Kobee and Gifberg area alone, aproximately 108 different species are to be found. The club logo displays the Namaqua Warbler. Our first formal outing was end of March 2014. We braved the Deep-Kobee and what an unforgettable experience! Amongst the many birds we saw was also the Jackal Buzzard and Verreaux’s Eagle. What a treat to observe the smaller species and endeavour to identify thier calls and mating habits – there were the bokmakierie; acacia pied barbet; large-billed lark; cape clapper lark; vleiloerie, southern boubou and many more. We live in a bird paradise. Come and enjoy a day with us, bring your binocs and should you not be familiar with the area,
Jacques & Nadia Tredoux are two very knowledgable and energetic tour guides.
Contact them on: 078 747 3158 or Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Using Vanrhynsdorp as your base, you can travel in just about any direction and you will find colour! Pink and white and yellow meets the eye. Big patches of white as you travel up the Gifberg, pink as you enter the Knersvlakte and a variation of colour towards Nieuwoudtville.
What a free feel when you visit the Waterfall on the Urionskraal road - what a miracle to see an area transformed into colour, an area just short of barren a month ago! It is a must see!!

